Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Jordan, Camille kämēˈyə zhôrdäNˈ [key], 1771–1821, French writer and political figure. A moderate supporter of the French Revolution, he fled France during the Reign of Terror and again after...

(Encyclopedia) Davout, Louis Nicolas lwē nēkôläˈ dävo͞oˈ [key], 1770–1823, marshal of France. One of Napoleon's ablest generals, Davout defeated a Prussian army at Auerstedt (1806) and played a brilliant p...

(Encyclopedia) Abd ar-Rahman III, 891–961, Umayyad emir (912–29) and first caliph (929–61) of Córdoba. When he succeeded to the throne, the Spanish emirate was reduced to Córdoba and its environs and beset w...

(Encyclopedia) Appiani, Andrea ändrĕˈä äp–pyäˈnē [key], 1754–1817, Italian neoclassical painter and Italian court painter of Napoleon I, active in Lombardy. His frescoes include work in churches and pala...

(Encyclopedia) Ferdinand III, 1199–1252, Spanish king of Castile (1217–52) and León (1230–52), son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. At the death (1217) of her brother, Henry I of Castile, Ber...

(Encyclopedia) Lebrun, Charles François ləbröNˈ [key], 1739–1824, French statesman. A moderate member of the Constituent Assembly after the start of the French Revolution, he was imprisoned during the Reign o...

(Encyclopedia) Confederation of the Rhine, league of German states formed by Emperor Napoleon I in 1806 after his defeat of the Austrians at Austerlitz. Among its members were the newly created kingdoms of Bavaria a...

(Encyclopedia) Consulate, 1799–1804, in French history, form of government established after the coup of 18 Brumaire (Nov. 9–10, 1799), which ended the Directory. Three consuls were appointed to rule France—Na...

(Encyclopedia) Foscolo, Ugo o͞oˈgō fôsˈkōlō [key], 1778–1827, Italian poet and patriot. His name was originally Niccolò Foscolo. A devoted Venetian, he pinned his hope of a restored republic on Napoleon an...

(Encyclopedia) Berlin Decree, 1806, decree issued in Berlin by Napoleon I on Nov. 21 in answer to the British blockade. Claiming that the British blockade of purely commercial ports was contrary to international law...